


for you

by dalt205



Category: Wings of Fire - Tui T. Sutherland
Genre: M/M, One Shot, gay dragons back woooooo, sorta ooc idk tho, winter gets sad :(
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:02:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26864842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dalt205/pseuds/dalt205
Summary: follow up one shot to my previous one
Relationships: Qibli/Winter (Wings of Fire)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 53





	for you

**Author's Note:**

> SURPRISE!  
> bet you didnt expect this tag to be updated  
> anyways  
> this is for the amazing people that gave kind comments to my other one shot  
> and especially frostii for being an amazing helpful person <3
> 
> enjoy :>

_  
This is a dream._

_Too good to be true._

_There's no way.  
_  
Qibli couldn't trust anything he had seen, heard, or experienced in his whole life. How could he? He had gotten everything he had ever wished for, despite coming from a harsh and murderous family, despite being… well, Qibli. He kept promising himself that it would eventually happen, but every time, it felt empty. It seemed like its only purpose was to force himself to keep going just a bit longer, to finally have the chance at anything worthwhile. The hope was a candle in a dark void, ready to slowly die out or light it up in a flash. For all those years he had spent hoping, he had never expected his dreams to take shape right in front of his very own eyes.  
_  
I don't deserve this._

_Why did everything become so great?_

_I should be back at the Scorpion Den, stuck with my murderous siblings, left by myself, alone and miserable._  
  
It was as if he had stumbled across a random animus dragon, who decided that Qibli would be the one to get the perfect world, with everything he wanted. He was saved from the hellhole his family created, found dragons that cared about him, met someone he could truly love, and most surprisingly of all, had received the love he had craved his entire life. Of course he felt undeserving, why should he have been the one that had gotten his perfect reality?

_I’ve done nothing to get this._

_But I’m here, with everything I’ve ever wanted._

_How?_

The moment Thorn had saved Qibli from his own family, he was met with crushing disappointment, filled with the realization that he could never earn his mother’s love, much less anyone else’s. But with that, came relief and hope, because, for some reason, Thorn cared about him, something Qibli had hoped for a long time. He immediately felt much better, finally given a purpose, not being a useless dragonet that had done nothing all his life. Then came the opportunity to go to Jade Mountain Academy. Before arriving, he had been quite cautious and reluctant to step foot inside the mountain. After all, he only wanted to stay at the Kingdom of Sand with Thorn, the only place he wanted to be. Of course, that all changed the moment he met Winter. Something had clicked in his head, suddenly giving him all the determination in the world just to get the stubborn IceWing to be friends with him.

_How does he do it?_

_Everything is so different._

_It was one dragon. Just him._

Slowly but surely, Qibli found himself falling for Winter, but along with that, came with the desire for love in return. That desire overwhelmed him, cramming his brain with memories and feelings of his young self, desperate and hoping for attention. Every snort and remark Winter made was a balloon lifting his mood and spirit, but balloons don't last forever, and the ones Winter had created were no exception. The balloons quickly popped, and everything fell, hitting rock bottom under an anvil of devastating reminders of his uncaring family. All the hateful screams came back, chipping and tearing at his sanity. It was a vicious cycle, rising and falling constantly. It was almost impossible to handle, but he held on, hoping the past wouldn't repeat.

_I'll never understand._

_How did he fall for me?_

_Why was it me?_

It was all worth it. Regardless of what he thought he deserved, Qibli was in his room, at Jade Mountain Academy, far from his family, with his friend- no, boyfriend, safe from everything that could ever harm him. He thought it was impossible, but that didn't matter now.

It had been a full 24 hours since Winter had confessed, and Qibli couldn't sleep a wink. Thoughts wildly swirled in his head, leaving no opportunity to sleep. Everything came and left in a blur, except one question.

_Why me?_

It was quite late (or early?), at a time where no dragon in their right mind would have been up, but there Qibli was, awake as ever. The room was softly lit by silver beams of moonlight streaming through the window, along with a candle flickering in the corner, dimly lighting the room with a soft orange glow. The skies were clear, a pitch-black blanketed with shining dots speckled across. All that could be heard was the constant chirp of crickets around them, and the occasional breeze rustling the leaves and trees outside.

However, Qibli noticed none of this, as his eyes were locked on the sleeping IceWing next to him, all focus led toward him. His body silently rising and sinking with set rhythm, wings loosely draped on the floor. His perfectly smooth scales, little cascading sheets of ice, glimmering with every movement. The serene look on his face that overtook the constant scowl. All he could think about was why Winter had fallen for him. Qibli could figure many things out in an instant, but this choice seemed illogical, all reason gone up in flames.

_I’m just… me._

_I’m not special at all, just some random SandWing who can annoy others to no end._

_That’s it._

_So what does Winter see in me?_

_I don’t deserve to have him in my life._

_He’s the most handsome, heroic, helpful, and the greatest dragon ever, and he chooses me?_

_Why me?_

After an eternity, a low voice cut through the air.

"You suck at sleeping." Winter turned his head to look at Qibli.

Coming back to reality, he snapped his head away in an attempt to not look like he was staring at Winter the whole time. "Did I wake you up?"

"Oh no, I was already awake, listening to your lame self toss and turn. You’re insane." Winter snorted, lifting his head to Qibli's level.

“Hey, you’re awake too, and I am so not insane, at least compared to you. Why aren’t you sleeping?” Qibli frowned.

"So what is it?" He asked, ignoring Qibli’s question.

"What is what?" Qibli asked, confused by Winter's vague question.

"You're obviously thinking about something, I know that look when I see it, and you've been up all night, so what is it?" Winter tilted his head, curious about what Qibli had to say. He found that mind so perplexing, always observing and trying to figure things out, along with strange little things scattered about.

"It's a question."

Winter nodded, letting Qibli continue.

“So… why me? I mean, I know I’m quite amazing, but I’m just me. How did it happen?”

Winter took a noticeable pause before speaking again, glancing at Qibli and then down at the floor.

“I don’t really know. It’s just like… one day you think you’re fine living all by yourself with no one there for you, and before you know it, you’d rather die than live without some random SandWing you met through an academy. I don’t know how or why.” Winter tensed, squeezing his eyes shut. The little demons in his head were screeching again, shoving him back down the hellhole he had desperately tried to escape many times. “You are amazing. More amazing than I’ll ever be. Why do you even like me? I’m a worthless piece of shit and you know it.”

That hit way too close to home. Qibli felt the same about himself, and it hurt inside. He was the useless one and Winter was the best dragon to ever exist, and he would make sure Winter knew that regardless of whether it put himself down.

“Winter, you’re right about most things, but you’re wrong here. You’re amazing, and you’re far better than you give yourself credit for.” Qibli paused, placing his talon on Winter’s. “Far better than me at least...”

“No. No, No, No, NO!” Winter shouted, jerking his talon away, violently shaking his head.

“Why do you think that? I shouldn’t be with you. All I do is hurt and take from others. What have I done to be amazing? I couldn’t even keep myself from hurting you!” Winter suddenly took on an angry tone, being reminded of what he had done to Qibli.

“You were under a spell, that wasn’t your fault!” Qibli winced. He knew Winter well enough that all the anger he showed was self-hatred, finally coming to a boil and releasing steam.

“Yes it was, and I couldn’t stop myself, who knows if I can stop myself in the future?”

“It was my fault, I shouldn’t have pushed you like that, but I did, and I knew what I was doing.” Qibli looked at Winter, who seemed to be caught in a maelstrom of self-deprecation and worthlessness.

“No. Stop feeling sorry for me. That was all me. I hurt you, and nothing can change that.”

“Listen, it was my fault, but even if it was yours, I would still care about you, and nothi-” Qibli was abruptly cut off by Winter’s yelling, giving him a little scare.

“Why are you arguing about this? You never do anything wrong, you’re the perfect dragon, and I’m the one who creates the problems others have to fix. You’ve done so much for me and all I give in return is toxicity and frost breath. What do you even see in me? I’m just me.” Winter walked to the corner of the cave and sagged down, his anger morphing into guilt and shame.

Qibli watched as Winter hid in the corner, shaking and growling in frustration. Winter had gotten this way once in a three moon night, but when it happened, whatever was building up inside his head would break him, and all that would be felt was hidden pain and hatred. He felt a sudden pang in his chest, filled with hurt and longing to help. Qibli could never stop thinking about Winter, and so when he saw lose Winter himself, the worry would become a sharp dagger, twisting and diving into every corner of his mind with ease. Sometimes there was nothing he could do, which always hurt the most. Knowing that you should do something, but everything you did wouldn’t work was like acid in a gaping wound. He would always try though, no matter what happened.

“Winter, that’s not you. I see a dragon that would help his friends without hesitation, a dragon that’s fun to tease and talk to. You’re the one who saved my life and the one who made it all the better.” Qibli softly whispered, placing his wing on Winter’s cool back. “That’s you.”

“Here you are again, fixing my problems.” Winter spat. “You’re perfect and so much more. I’m not enough for you.”

His talons slammed on the floor, creating a loud thump that shook the ground.

“You don’t have to be anything else or do anything else. I’m here for you, and you’re more than enough for me.” Qibli held Winter’s talon and looked into his eyes, where the glaring blizzard had died down, replaced with a cloudless deep blue sky.

"Just when I thought I figured you out… " Winter huffed. "You've fixed everything for me and yet you keep solving every single one of my problems, big or little. I don't think I'll ever know how or why you do it."

"I don't know how either, but I do know why." Qibli gave Winter a cheerful smile, which was met with a curious look.

"I do it for you."

**Author's Note:**

> this was actually intended to be an attempt at pure fluff, but instead it goes to sad and angry winter  
> not that I'm complaining though
> 
> school kind of being a killer right now so finding time to write is sort of hard, but I'm working on a longer thing that I shall not name


End file.
